


a sprouting sweetness

by heeryor_lunboks



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Mating Cycles/In Heat, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-03
Updated: 2019-06-03
Packaged: 2020-04-06 23:36:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19072981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heeryor_lunboks/pseuds/heeryor_lunboks
Summary: It takes Jester a good few hours or so to notice that there’s something off with Caduceus.Jester was too busy working on one of the tree lights to notice, but when she looks over, Caduceus is in the same spot he was at fifteen minutes ago, a bag of seeds loosely held in his hands. She looks over to Caleb, who shrugs.Caduceus blinks, rocks back on his heels and wobbles a little. He props his forearms on his knees and hangs his head, breathing in. The back of his loose shirt is soaked through with sweat. It kind of looks like heatstroke, except it’s the middle of the night, and it really isn’t that warm out. Caduceus even has his sunhat on, despite the fact that it’s totally dark out.





	a sprouting sweetness

It takes Jester a good few hours or so to notice that there’s something off with Caduceus. 

Jester was too busy working on one of the tree lights to notice, but when she looks over, Caduceus is in the same spot he was at fifteen minutes ago, a bag of seeds loosely held in his hands. She looks over to Caleb, who shrugs.

“Caduceus. Are you unwell?” Caleb calls over. 

It’s the first thing he’s said in hours, since he was being boring and copying spells underneath the tree instead of helping them with the gardening. It’s nice, though. Everyone else is out doing errands, and he wandered up with his books tucked underneath his arm and settled here with them, tucking himself under the tree in easy proximity to them. It’s nice. Even Sprinkle deigned to join them, prompting a hushed, excited message from Caleb when Sprinkle cautiously settled against Frumpkin in a hollow of the branches. 

“Ca-du-ceus,” she calls over.

Caduceus blinks, rocks back on his heels and wobbles a little. He props his forearms on his knees and hangs his head, breathing in. “Oh. Oh hey.”

Jester drops what she’s doing and runs over to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. 

The back of his loose shirt is soaked through with sweat. It kind of looks like heatstroke, except it’s the middle of the night, and it really isn’t that warm out. Caduceus even has his sunhat on, despite the fact that it’s totally dark out. Jester tied a ribbon around it ages ago, and it now has some mushrooms growing along the edge. 

Caleb comes up to her elbow, holding the jug of water they brought up. His eyebrows are scrunched into a familiar frown that means he’s pretty worried about something. 

Caduceus blinks up at them, wobbling on his heels.

“Don’t get up too quickly,” she says, pressing on Caduceus’s shoulder. “Oh man, Caduceus, you don’t look so good.”

Caduceus nods vaguely. “Just feel kind of hot. Huh. Thank you, Mr. Caleb,” he says, reaching for the water that Caleb hands him.

He looks calm enough, but there’s this unfamiliar tension through his limbs, making his posture tight and wound in a way that looks more like Caleb than Caduceus. It’s weird, seeing him like this. Jester reaches for his hand, tugging him towards the mattress they dragged outside for spell-casting naps. Caduceus follows easily. 

“Caduceus, why didn’t you say something?” she chides.

She sits him down and smooths his hair back. It’s sleek and pretty as ever, but a little sweaty around his temples. That won’t do. She reaches into her pocket for a hair tie and smoothes his hair into a bun, like he usually does when they’re gardening together. 

“There. That’s better!” She cups his jaw in her hands and blows a cool stream of air over the skin of his neck. He jolts in her touch with a gasp. “Is that nice?”

“Yeah. Yeah, real nice,” he says. His eyes flutter open. His eyes are blown wide, only a thin ring of pink around the dark pupil. Then, he blinks, his eyes clearing for a moment. “Jester. Sorry. Sorry, could you please back away a bit?”

Oh. Jester backs away, holding her hands up. She looks to Caleb, who shrugs back at her.

“Caduceus,” Caleb says. He has his fingers twisted around the handle of the jug. His gaze is serious, fixed on Caduceus. “Is there something amiss?”

“I, hm.” Caduceus opens his mouth, pauses for a long moment. “I’m going through a rut cycle. Geez, I haven’t gotten one of those in years. Kind of snuck up on me. Okay, that’s a thing.”

Jester blinks.

O-kay. Knowing Caduceus, “years” could probably mean anything from a couple of years to like, a quarter-century. Jester doesn’t know much about firbolg sex stuff. But she knows that some of the people who came through the Lavish Chateau were people who needed help with these things, didn’t want to be alone for it. It was nice and casual for some people, but it got pretty bad with others. Who knows which one Caduceus has.

Jester takes a deep breath. She can help with this. “Okay, how are you feeling now?”

“It’s—it’s kind of a lot,” Caduceus says, his words stumbling out of him. He blinks, taking a deep breath, like a wave is cresting over him. He slowly tips over onto the mattress, then rolls over, his hips rolling in a way that makes a flush rise to Jester’s ears. “Oh, geez. Okay. That’s a lot.”

“What is it that you usually do?” Caleb says carefully. “Do you want to be alone?”

“Hm?” Caduceus says, a little strained. “It’s—I wait it out. That’s what I did in the Blooming Grove.”

Jester makes a face. “Did you hang a little sign outside the graveyard, like, sorry no funerals right now, _really big_ boner emergency, come back later, help yourself to dead people candy?”

Caduceus frowns. “I’ve never made dead people candy. I guess I could use tea extract? That could be nice.”

Caleb passes a hand over his eyes. “Please, can we not—we are not talking about dead people.” He takes a step forward, puts a light, deliberate hand on Caduceus’s shoulder. There’s a long shudder down Caduceus’s back. “Friend. How can we help you with this?”

Caleb’s face has that determined cast he has when he has a goal. It would be a little hilarious, because it’s like he’s about to say, okay, Jester, here is my proposed plan for firbolg dick wrangling, please give your feedback. But Caduceus is hurting, so it’s definitely not that funny.

“I. Hm.” Caduceus takes a deep breath and rolls back over to face them. His hands are knotted in his loose pants, as if trying not to reach for someone. “I don’t usually. I don’t usually have other people. It’s fine by myself. It’s inconvenient, but it’s fine.” 

Jester kneels and smooths a hand over his hair. “Is that what you want?” 

She hasn’t done this before, but she knows the range of options that the Chateau would offer, and they all seem fine to her. Caduceus—Caduceus looks shivery, and out of sorts, and desperate for touch, and she can’t just leave him like this. She flicks a glance at Caleb, who still has that worried crease in his forehead. He meets her eyes, gesturing for her to continue. 

“Would company help, or is would it be not fun and uncomfortable for you? If what you want is to be alone, that’s totally cool. We can put a nice ‘firbolg dick emergency’ sign on the patio door and tell people not to come in here. Or if you just want someone to cuddle, that’s cool too.”

Caleb takes a deep breath. “If you would like some company, I know the circumstances are not ideal, but believe me when I say that I do not mind.”

Jester rolls her eyes. “Caleb, you have to be more clear about this. Communication is important! You have to say, Caduceus, if you would like someone to bone down with, I am down for it.” She pauses. “So yeah, Caduceus, if you would like someone to bone down with, I am totally down for it.” 

It’s true. She likes Caduceus’s pretty hair and his wide hands and his long, rangy body. The circumstances are a little weird, sure, but she’s curious. And if it might help Caduceus, that’s also nice. 

She looks over to Caleb. It just—it might be nice to have Caleb there, too, with his skilled hands and quick mind. She likes that idea. 

Caduceus stills and looks up at them, and despite the feverish look of his eyes, the wet flush of his mouth, he looks thoughtful, like he’s slowly, methodically turning the thought over in his mind. 

Jester almost gets a little impatient by the time he nods and says, “I never really had anyone that I wanted to try it with before, I guess. It feels like it might be right to try with you? Maybe it’s destiny, that you're here and I'm here.”

Caleb frowns at him and rocks back on his heels, though he keeps a friendly hand on Caduceus’s arm. “I’m not sure that I like the idea of being destined to, ah, bone down. If you do not prefer company, that is fine, ja? It is only if it might be nicer, easier for you.”

“You are not bound by your boner destinyyyyyyy,” Jester whispers, and it’s gratifying to hear Caleb snort. “But seriously, are you sure? You’re going from zero to threesome real quick.”

Caduceus gives a slow nod. He looks over them. It's like Caduceus's usual assessing look, where he kind of seems to be reading your mind, but his eyes are dark and deep. His eyelashes flutter shut as he rubs his hands against his thighs. “I think I’d like to. With the two of you, it feels like it might be nice. You don't have to, of course.” 

Caleb nods. He leans forward, quick and decisive, and kisses Caduceus. Caduceus makes a deep, rumbly sound in his chest, muffled by Caleb’s mouth. Jester can see the fur on his arms stand on end, fluffing up, and it makes her want to reach out and pet it. His hand hovers around Caleb's shoulder as they kiss. It's tentative, curious, Caleb's brows scrunched together like he's working on a magic problem. 

Caleb leans back, patting Caduceus’s chest. His mouth is really red. “Is that—is this alright?”

Caduceus blinks, his eyes lidded. “Mm. Yeah? Yeah. This is nice.” He pulls Caleb down to meet his mouth again. HIs eyes flick over to Jester as he kisses him, and Jester shivers. 

She tumbles down next to him, fitting herself against his long body, and catches his lips with hers. The feel of Caduceus’s wide mouth against hers is so cool. She cups her hands around his jaw, the faint impression of sleek fur against her palms. When she gets brave and flicks her tongue against the seam of his lips, he opens up so easily to her, his mouth wet and pretty and flushed, a frantic, vibrating energy under his skin.

He pushes into her hands, every bit of his body straining for touch, his wide hands curling around Jester’s thighs, petting the skin there. He seems to notice, after a moment, pulling his hands back slowly to rest in his lap, but Jester pulls his hands back to where they were, because that was really nice.

She pulls back and kisses him on the tip of the nose. The nubbled skin is hot and dry against her lips.

“Ca-leb, kiss him again, okay?” He’s hovering awkwardly at the edge of the mattress, a flush high in his cheeks, and that’s not nice, to leave someone out.

Caleb leans down to press his mouth to Caduceus's. Caduceus kisses back, his face concentrated and thoughtful, one big hand moving from her thigh to cup the back of Caleb’s head. She can see Caleb gradually sink into the kiss, the stiff, unsure line of his spine relaxing. 

They’re pretty together, Caleb all pale skin and deep reds, and Caduceus in warm grey and bright pink. Caleb pulls away, looking at Caduceus carefully, and presses a wet kiss to the hollow of Caduceus’s neck, and Caduceus, oh man, Caduceus jerks all over, his hips grinding up against Jester’s leg, and oh, she really, really likes that noise.

“Oh. Oh wow. Sorry,” Caduceus pants. “Sorry, it’s just—” He waves his hand at his, well, giant boner.

“No apologies needed,” Caleb says, his eyes dark and his face flushed. 

Jester claps her hands. “I guess we all get naked now, right?”

They’ve all seen each other naked, because yeah, tiny camping bubbles don’t really leave any room for privacy, and none of them are really body-shy. Still, it’s kind of hilarious, the way that they all just kind of, undress, and then stare at each other, like, now what.

“Oh, Caduceus, it’s really nice!” It’s almost as nice as Molly’s, lovely and velvety-grey and oh yeah _pretty massive_. 

“You can trust her on that one. She’s an expert, I believe,” Caleb says, straight-faced. 

“Thanks, I think?” Caduceus says. The gently baffled look on his face is so _Caduceus_ that Jester has to pull him down to kiss. There’s a frantic, vibrating energy in him that’s really not Caduceus, though, and they need to fix that. 

“I—may I?” Caleb mutters, gesturing jerkily at Caduceus’s dick. Jester laughs, because they’re all so bad and so awkward at this, and it’s nothing like the books, but—but it’s fun. 

Caduceus makes a gesture at his dick like, that’s cool, go ahead, and Caleb wraps his hand around his dick. The contrast of Caleb’s pale pink hands against the grey of Caduceus’s skin is really cool-looking, and oh man, oh man, the noise that Caduceus makes when Caleb touches him is something she’s never heard out of him before, a deep, desperate keening, vibrating like a plucked gut-string in his chest.

“Oh,” Caleb says. Jester raises her eyebrows and pokes a finger into his side. That doesn’t sound like a what-am-I-going-to-do-with-this “oh.” That sounds like a how-do-I-get-something-in-me-post-haste “oh.” 

Caleb’s eyes are wide. He mutters a spell, almost tripping over the syllables in his haste, and slaps it into his chest, and straddles Caduceus’s waist. Caleb isn’t that small, but perched on Caduceus like this, the proportions are just so different, and it makes Jester throb with wanting. She squeezes her legs together, pressing a hand to herself. All of a sudden, it’s like things are moving really fast, like a cup spilling over, and she feels a little frantic herself, wanting and wanting and not knowing exactly what she wants except more.

Caleb’s hips are moving against Caduceus’s stomach, rubbing Caduceus’s dick along his cleft, and Caduceus’s eyes are half-closed, his pink eyelashes heavy, and he’s panting constantly, his mouth open and wet. Caleb is already really, really hard, like he’s super into this. 

And oh, oh geez, his hand is moving behind himself, probably fingering himself open. He moves like he’s practiced at this, like he knows the motions of it, even if it’s been awhile. 

“Ca-leb. Are just you going for it? You have to be careful!” She pauses. “Wait, did you seriously use a spell to make yourself ready? That feels like cheating. Wait, wait, _are there seriously weird wizard sex spells_?”

She feels a little offended that no one ever told her about weird wizard sex spells. 

“Jester,” Caleb says, a little strained. “I do not mean to interrupt, but I believe that Caduceus needs some relief.”

Jester narrows her eyes at him. “And you really want to get on that dick.”

Caleb ducks his head, hiding a smile. “Aaaaand I really want to get on that dick,” he says in a terrible, terrible impression of her voice.

Caduceus is tracing his hands up and down Caleb’s sides, drifting off to the side to pet at Jester’s thighs, panting like he can’t get enough skin under his hands.

“Ah,” he says when Caleb grasps his dick and slicks it, his expression dazed and open and wanting. Jester pats his side, trying to be soothing. She feels like there’s sparks all under her skin, too, excited and nervous all at once.

“Caduceus,” Caleb says, flushed and disheveled. “Like this, is it okay?”

Caduceus blinks, once, twice, and keens, the sound low and humming. Jester can feel it resonate in her bones. She bends forward to smooth his hair back, kissing his forehead. 

“Caduceus,” she says. “Please answer Caleb?”

“Please,” Caduceus echoes. His hands fly to anchor themselves on Caleb, almost spanning his waist.

“We have you, friend,” Caleb says.

And, oh, oh, that’s their skinny, squishy Caleb, fucking himself open, panting as he sinks onto Caduceus’s ridiculous, beautiful dick. And Caduceus is so flushed, pink and grey everywhere, his hips frantically hitching up into Caleb. 

His big hands flutter like can’t decide what they want to touch most, petting over Caleb’s chest, the curling hair around his face, the freckles on his shoulders, continually distracted. 

He settles his grasp onto Caleb’s thighs, kneading at the spare muscle of his legs as he rolls his hips up. Caduceus jerks a bit in his eagerness, and his grip knocks Caleb’s thighs apart wider, startling a cry from Caleb as more dick sinks inside him before he can catch himself on Caduceus’s heaving belly. 

Caduceus sighs, his thick-lashed eyes closed in bliss, and his hands settle on Caleb’s thighs, heavy and wanting, pushing in and holding Caleb on his cock. 

Caleb must be holding Caduceus so deep inside him. He’s squirming against Caduceus’s hold, not trying to get away, but fruitlessly trying to move, his hands flying up to pull at his own nipple for stimulation. 

“Oh, oh Caleb, do you like that?” She knocks his hands away from himself, touching his chest, tightening on his nipples when he pushes into her touch. He lets go of a shaking, high sound, and Jester can just _feel_ a rush of heat between her legs. Oh, she likes this so much. “Ca-du-ceus, you have to let him go a little, so he can move, okay?”

Caduceus’s eyes flutter open, and he’s so pretty, his pupils blown wide and his lashes heavy. “Oh. Oh yeah.” His hands loosen on Caleb’s thighs, and Caleb breathes a cry of relief, lifting himself off of Caduceus’s dick only to get caught by Jester’s hold on his chest. 

“Mm, don’t go too far, though, we have to take care of Caduceus.” 

“Yes, I am, I am, Jester,” Caleb says, desperate and a little hilariously huffy in his eagerness. “I don’t know if you can tell. You might have noticed the _giant amount of dick_ inside me.”

“Reaaaally?” Jester says, pulling at Caleb’s nipples and pulling a cry from him. “How much dick? Tell me about it.”

“Mm, he is, he is so big. So thick, gott, he is absolutely ruining me.” There’s a curl of humour around his words, like he’s imitating the novels that they read to each other. But he also sounds really, really into it. Jester wants to touch Caleb’s belly, see if she can feel Caduceus in him. Caleb blows his hair out of his face and leans back on Caduceus’s thighs, pulling against her grip with a glad cry when he fucks himself back onto Caduceus. 

“Your hands, they are so strong, Jester,” he says, and he’s not kidding at all, and oh, that’s so nice. She likes hearing that.

It’s kind of awesome, having big, gentle, Caduceus and skinny, powerful Caleb under her hands, helping them exactly the way she wants to.

“I know, right? And you’re so light, Caleb! I could just pick you up and bounce you on Caduceus’s dick.”

Caleb moans, low and shaky, and oh _man_ , he just sounds so good like this. 

“Mm-hmm. That’s very nice, Caleb.” She lets go of him, patting his chest. “Caduceus, now you. How are you feeling?”

Caduceus just makes a low, happy sound, his thumbs stroking over Caleb’s hipbones as he grinds into him. His touch lingers over a thick patch of scarring at Caleb’s side, passing back and forth over it like he’s fascinated by the texture. It’s weirdly chaste and kind of really cute. Caduceus is less frantic now, more calm, almost in a trance, his hips rolling slowly into Caleb.

“Okay, so you're doing okay too. That’s good!” She slips her hand between her thighs, pressing at herself. 

He turns to her, his hair spilling pink and pretty across the pillow. He blinks slowly, opens and closes his mouth a few times before he finds words to string together.

“And, and you, Jester? Don’t forget about yourself. Like the buddy system.” He frowns. “Except with more than one buddy.” 

She smooths her hair out of her face. She’s probably really flushed. “I’m good!”

He lifts a hand from Caleb’s hips and gently nudges between her legs. “Oh wow. You’re really wet. Wow, that’s so nice.” His thick, blunt fingers push between her lips, and she puts her hand on his, can feel herself so slick and hot and soft and so wanting. 

“Caduceus, do you want to, to finger me? I would really really like that, but I don’t know if it would be helpful for you.” 

“Yeah,” Caduceus says dreamily. “Yeah, that would be real nice. You feel really nice.” 

“Okay, okay, okay,” Jester says in a rush. She nudges Caduceus's hand, and he pushes inside her, thick and lovely. She bucks into his hand, makes him put in another finger right away right now because the stretch is so nice and the solid bones of his fingers are so good in her. He’s too unfocused to thrust properly, but he curls his fingers inside her, twisting them idly as if curious about the feeling of her, and that’s soooo nice. They’re so good. They’re so nice. Everything is so good.

“Jester, could you come up here?” Caduceus takes his fingers out of her, and she almost whines in disappointment, but his big hands are gently, insistently herding her to straddle him, then nudging her up towards his face, and _oh okay okay okay that’s fine_. He pushes his fingers back inside her, yes, and the flat of his tongue is broad and firm and slick against her, and _wow yes_. He pulls back, cupping her hips in his hands, nudging at her with the blunt curve of his nose.

“Oh, I like the way you taste. That’s really nice,” Caduceus says, almost matter-of-factly, like he’s sampling a local delicacy. 

“Good!” she squeaks out, hooking a hand behind one of his soft, furred ears and guiding him back to her. He doesn’t really know what he’s doing, but neither does she, and his curious, calm enthusiasm is everything she needs. 

It’s nice to see him grounded again, with some of the frantic wanting from earlier a little blunted. They did that, her and Caleb, and it makes a little hot spark of pride burst in her chest.

“Oh, Jester,” she hears Caleb say, low and fond and wrecked, and she feels a quick press of lips to her back. “Oh, you are lovely.” 

He makes a cut-off sound, high and gasping, and Jester opens her eyes and peeks over her shoulder. And oh, oh wow, Caleb sure came all over Caduceus’s chest. From watching Caduceus put his mouth on her. And from putting a really nice dick inside himself, too, Jester supposes. 

“I’m sorry—Caduceus, I need to—” he groans, like it’s too much, a little moan hiccuping out of him when Caduceus hitches his hips into him. 

A little part of Jester wants to tell Caduceus to keep going, to keep Caleb on him as he squirms, to push another aching orgasm out of him. She just—she thinks that Caleb would look good like that, a little wet-eyed and shaking, and she knows that some people like that. Maybe Caleb is one of them. But it feels like too much, and it’s one thing to know that some people like being a little mean in a nice way, and another to suddenly recognize that in herself. 

Caleb groans as he lifts himself, flopping ungracefully by Caduceus on the bed.

“Mm—” Caduceus makes a protesting noise, a little of the calm edging away from him.

She clutches Caduceus’s face to her, feeling him squirm underneath her. “Keep going,” she says, a little stern in a way that feels good. His tongue goes quick and frantic against her, his fingers thick and good inside, and oh, oh, oh, it takes her by surprise when a rush of feeling rolls over her, all her body alight and straining, leaving her panting and delighted.

She loosens her grip in Caduceus’s bright hair, smoothing it over as she tumbles to lie next to him. 

“Sorry! Sorry, I didn’t notice I was pulling!” She darts in to kiss Caduceus, quick and apologetic. “Oh, that was nice. That was so nice.”

“Mm, it’s fine,” Caduceus says, his voice determinedly level, though she can see the calm edging away from him again, a little wild-eyed as he writhes a little against the mattress, as if he just needs to roll over and hump the covers. His dick is so hard and so slick, a pretty pearling bead of fluid rolling down it. She catches it with her hand, stroking over him, and geez, she can feel his frantic pulse through his skin, a lost, wanting noise pushing out of him.

Caleb taps his stomach, calling for his attention. Caduceus looks over to him, his hands grasping at air, then pulling Caleb close to him, rutting against him.

“Ah, my thighs, they are a little chickeny and bony compared to yours, Jester, but, but you are welcome to them, Caduceus,” Caleb says, gasping as Caduceus’s cock slides against his.

Jester preens a little. She does have really nice thighs, but she really, really wants to see that.

Caleb flips over, encouraging Caduceus to follow him. Caduceus almost entirely covers Caleb as he bends over him and pushes between his thighs, a sudden burst of that frantic, wanting energy returning to him as he jerks his hips into the tight join of Caleb’s legs, Caleb’s clever, pretty hands rubbing at the head of his dick on the downstroke. She reaches down to touch herself, a slow grind against herself, because it feels good and they both looks so nice.

The sound of Caduceus rutting against Caleb is quick and urgent, and she’s pretty sure that Caleb’s pale thighs are going to be flushed red by the end of this. It doesn’t take long for Caduceus to groan, low and deep in his chest, and to still against Caleb’s back, shaking, coming in a series of long shudders.

“Keep your thighs tight around him, Caleb,” she says, pushing the loose hair from out of Caleb’s face. “I think that feels good.” 

“Okay,” Caleb says shakily. “Okay.”

He reaches down, palming the head of Caduceus’s dick between his legs, his hand catching a handful of come, and pulls at his own dick, efficient and quick, and shakily, softly, comes, and _geez Caleb that is so dirty and so nice_. Jester smooths her hands between her legs, quick circles on her clit the way she likes it, tucking her fingers inside herself, and oh, another orgasm rolls over her, lovely and warm.

Caduceus is panting, soft and exhausted, and the mattress is. Well. Kind of a mess. Wow.

Caleb yelps a little and narrowly avoids being crushed by Caduceus by rolling off the mattress onto the floor, landing with a thump. The spell-napping mattress is definitely not big enough for this.

She pats Caduceus’s shoulder as he nuzzles into her lap. “Sooooo, how are you doing? Do you need to come again? Do you need a glass of water?”

“‘m good,” Caduceus mumbles against her leg. “Might need a little help later. Good for now. That was nice.”

Good. Jester grabs Caleb off the floor, hauling him back up onto the mattress, mostly avoiding the wet spot. He’s kind of shaky-legged, like all his joints are loose, and it’s so nice to see him like that. He looks at her and Caduceus for a moment, his expression hard to read, before it settles into softness. He lies down next to her, looking up into the canopy. 

“I very much like your tree,” he says. 

“Me too,” Jester says. “It’s nice, right?”

The lights above her pulse with her heartbeat, steadying and slowing as it even out. The leaves in the tree shake with a sudden wind passing through, and she pulls Caleb closer against her side so he won’t get cold. She’s further away from home than she’s ever been, and the night is deep and dark, and she feels very warm.


End file.
